. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. ^'^'J NATURAL HISTORY. The Atlantic species of the Loggerhead does not appear to extend into the Indian Ocean ; and a single-clawed, long, fore-limbed kind exists there. It is tlie Indian Loggerhead. The shell is never much over two feet in length, and the flesh is not eaten, except by the natives of the coasts of the Bay of Bengal, of Malabar, and the Philippines. The last genus to be noticed is that of the Leather-back Turtles, whose carapace is not covered with scales of shell, but with a dense coi-iaceous skin. These Turtles make a roa


. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. ^'^'J NATURAL HISTORY. The Atlantic species of the Loggerhead does not appear to extend into the Indian Ocean ; and a single-clawed, long, fore-limbed kind exists there. It is tlie Indian Loggerhead. The shell is never much over two feet in length, and the flesh is not eaten, except by the natives of the coasts of the Bay of Bengal, of Malabar, and the Philippines. The last genus to be noticed is that of the Leather-back Turtles, whose carapace is not covered with scales of shell, but with a dense coi-iaceous skin. These Turtles make a roaring noise under certain circumstances, and hence have been included in the genus Sphargis.* They have large fore limbs and smaller hind ones, and there are no nails. The jaws are dentilated, and the skin of the back is in longitudinal ridges. They grow to a great size, and inhabit the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and. have been cast on Englisli coasts, having wandered to the north of their usual limits ; moreover, they are found in the tempei-ate zones of all the great oceans. The Sphargis' shell has seven long projecting ridges along it, separated by grooves, and the skin is smooth in adults, but tubercular in young ones. The fore and hind extremities are well developed, and the digits are exceedingly long and form admiral)le paddles. The most important points in the anatomy of the Turtles have been noticed in describing that of the Tortoise, and it is only necessary to remai-k on their great tenacity of life, the great independence of their muscular .system, so far as the nervous centres are concerned, and the long-continued energy of their heart after its removal from the body. THE EXTINCT CHELONIANS. Tlie Chelonians are a very ancient order, and their remains have been found fossilised, especially the limb bones and the carapace and plastron, these being often marked with the impressions of the tortoiseshell plates. Tliere are some impressions of feet which have been at


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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecta, booksubjectanimals